Photograph
by Marichatsins
Summary: One picture leads to a lifetime of memories, or so Lucy finds out.


**Summary: Modern AU. I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Lucy is an aspiring photographer, who is slowly making her way to the top. What happens when she asks one man in particular if she could take a photo of him?**

 **Pairing: Natsu/Lucy hints of Gray/Juvia, Gajeel/Levy, and Jellal/Erza**

 **Genre: Romance/Friendship**

 **Word Count: 2,716**

* * *

Lucy smiled fondly at the old photo she held in her hands. She had been cleaning her house, deciding that it was time for a spring cleaning even though it was the beginning of winter. While she while she was rearranging her room, moving her favorite books back onto the shelves on her walls, the picture had fluttered out, swaying as it fell on the wooden floor near her feet. When she had picked it up, she saw that it was a photo of Natsu, the first photograph she ever took of him actually.

The rose-haired man was grinning at the camera, his white, scale patterned scarf brushing against his chin and his cheeks tinged a pale pink from the coldness of that night. Just one glance at this photograph, and Lucy could remember everything that had led her to the life that she was living.

And it was all thanks to that adventurous, fun-loving, dragon obsessed man.

Lucy clutched her camera tightly, a huge smile on her face as she went through the photos she had taken earlier that day. She was feeling giddy over the fact that she was getting closer and closer to the day her photos would be displayed proudly in a gallery dedicated to her work. As an aspiring photographer, she took hundreds of photos per day, which led to thousands a week. Though her method was a bit unorthodox, compared to other great photographers, she seemed to have the ability to bring something in all her photos that other photographers, aside from the best, weren't able to bring.

She was able to bring absolute love and admiration to her photos.

That passion she had when she held her camera seemed to be greater than anyone else's, dedicating her life to her photos and the people she met and places she went for her photography. She had always dreamed of being as good as her favorite photographers, and as was sure she was slowly achieving her goal.

Snow fell around her, the cold wet flakes landing on her exposed skin before melting. The dark night made it slightly harder for her to see the hot puffs of breath leaving her mouth.

 _Hey, that would be a really cool picture! I wonder if-_ a hand grabbing her thin wrist knocked her out of her creative train of thought as she turned to look at the dark eyed man gripping her arm. "Can I help you?" Oh, how much Lucy hoped this was not a pervert or a rapist was almost overwhelming.

The person didn't reply, instead reaching for the camera she was holding in her hands. "Hey!" Lucy jerked the camera back with her free arm back towards herself, taking a few steps back as well as she stumbled to get away from the man who was attempting to grab her camera again.

"Just give me the camera, you stupid girl. Otherwise things are gonna hurt for you." A switchblade that had been hidden came into full view as the light from the nearby lamppost glinted dangerously off it. Lucy felt a lump start to form in her throat, the urge to cry being stronger than ever. "And while we're at it, those pretty rubies you've got dangling from your ears is another thing you're going to give me."

No, she couldn't do that. She couldn't give up her camera, not only because of her precious photos but also because she wouldn't be able to buy another. And her earrings… she couldn't give this filthy man the last thing she had of her mother. So she stood her ground. She bit her tongue as she glared at the thief, getting into a position to kick him.

"Just give me the camera, girl. Or else I'll cut that pretty skin of yours so much that no man would ever even want to look at you again." He snarled at Lucy threateningly to emphasize his point. In a fluid motion, she kicked him in the chest, but his grip didn't loosen as he took her down with him.

"You asked for it, you stupid brat." The man's grip on her wrist tightened into a bruising force, causing her to yelp in pain as he yanked her up roughly with him. Lucy's closed her eyes in fear, clutching her camera tightly to her chest as she anticipated the cold metal that was sure to come.

But it never did.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing to her?!" The cluttering sound of the knife hitting the ground caused some switch inside her brain to flip, causing her to open her brown eyes wide. At first, all she could see was pink and white as she openly stared at the rose-haired man in front of her, squeezing her captor's wrist hard enough for him to let go of the blonde. "Stay behind me."

Lucy was entranced by the fascinating olive colored eyes her protector had. She noticed the pale scar leading from beneath the right side of his jaw and ran halfway up his cheek, contrasting beautifully against his tanned skin.

The spell quickly broke as her mysterious savior turned back to the man he was holding in place, an angry glint in his dark green eyes as his lower lip curled into a viscious snarl at the attacker, and he growled actually growled. "Did he hurt you?"

Oh god, the sound of his voice is so chilling but somehow warming at the same time. Lucy thought, a bright pink blush from the cold, she swears, dusting her high cheekbones. "Are you hurt?" His olive green eyes met her chocolate ones once again, his brows drawing together as he looked at her in worry.

"N-No I'm fine. You came just in time, thanks." She heard a growl come from the thief and she squeaked, closing the gap between her and her savior, holding the back of his scarf in her balled up fist as she peeked over his shoulder. Her savior drew back his arm, the muscles tending as he rammed his fist towards the other man's face, knocking him flat on the ground. The man quickly scurried away before he could receive any more abuse. Thanks to his dark clothes he blended into the night and managed to escape the rage of the pink haired man.

"Tch, damn. He got away." Mystery man turned to face her, surprising her with just how quickly he could change from that terrifying persona to this concerned one as he looked over her, inspecting for injuries. "Are you okay?"

"Can I take a picture of you?"

The question seemed to throw her protector off guard and she mentally began to hit herself repeatedly against her head. "Why?"

"It's just uh… it's just that- you're beautiful!" The words blurred out of her mouth before she could even try to stop them. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened in disbelief. Did she really just tell her savior he was beautiful? She mentally scolded herself as a light pink blush became more prominent on his tanned skin as he readjusted his scarf.

"Sure." Lucy looked at him in surprise as e stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. "Are ya gonna take the picture?" The blonde fumbled with her camera.

"Thanks again, for saving me and doing this." She said as she adjusted the settings on her camera, changing the aperture and shutter speed so she could get the right exposure to do the picture of him justice.

"A dragon has to protect his princess, right?" With a wide grin and closed eyes from him, Lucy managed to take the picture without shaking, a dark red coating her cheeks and the tips of her ears, making them feel as if they were on fire. Once the picture was taken, he spoke once more, his grin still there. "I'm Natsu by the way! Natsu Dragneel."

"Oh! I'm Lucy Heartfilia."

"Nice to meet ya Luigi!"

"The name's Lucy!"

* * *

"You named your cat Happy?" The disbelief in her voice was evident as Lucy walked next to Natsu, who had his hands placed behind his head.

"Yeah! You named your dog Plue, so Happy is the normal one here, weirdo." Natsu snickered as Lucy jumped in to defend herself and her puppy Plue.

"Plue is a cute name, and it's unique!" Lucy shouted out, pointing at Natsu as if her finger would emphasize her point. Natsu in return held his hands in the air, his sign as surrender, and was wearing a sparkling grin directed at her.

"Sure, sure. And where is this Plue now, Luce?" Luce. That was the nickname he had given her because, and she quotes, 'It was the most creative name in the world' or so he says. She just thinks he's an idiot. A hot, funny, and surprisingly nice idiot. She reminded herself as she answered his question.

"He's back in Magnolia with my best friend Levy. I'm just here in Hargeon to take some pictures to add to my photography collection." Lucy explained as she approached the hotel that she was supposed to be staying at.

The building had shoddy woodwork and no lights on to signal that anyone was home. The sign was crooked and some of the letters were dangling below it. Said letters looked like they were one breeze away from dropping completely and breaking into splinters on the cobble ground Lucy and Natsu were standing on.

"Uh, are ya sure this is where ya haveta be Luce?" Natsu questioned as he openly judged the shabby hotel in front of them before moving his gaze over to his companion who was eyeing the hotel warily. Lucy didn't want to open the door that led inside, scared that the hotel would collapse if she did so.

"This is the place…" Lucy drawled. Only when Natsu's warm hand was placed on her shoulder did she realize how cold she was. Her exposed fingers had long since grown numb, and her ears and cheeks were tinged a dark red from the harsh wind that was blowing the freezing snow on her face. She suddenly wished she had dressed warmer.

 _"Lucy, maybe you should grab a heavier jacket and some gloves. Gajeel told me that a blizzard might pass through Hargeon tonight."_

 _"It's okay Levy! I'll be fine!"_

Lucy could practically hear her best friend's voice inside her head saying 'I told you so' with that voice she used whenever she was right. She shook her head to rid herself of that thought. Levy will not stop teasing her is told her. "Luce?"

"Hm?" Natsu's voice had reminded her that he was still there, and the way he said her name led her to believe that she had completely missed what he was saying to her. She tended to do that a lot, Lucy realized.

"I asked if you wanted to stay at my apartment for the night."

"W-Why?" She stuttered out, partially blame the cold weather for her chattering teeth, and blaming the rose haired man in front of her from her pounding heart.

"Because it's cold purse and the building is going to fall by the wind. So?" Lucy looked at him, her chocolate brown eyes staring into his piercing green ones, searching for any kind of hidden intentions. When she saw none, she slowly nodded her head, agreeing to go with him.

"Okay."

* * *

That was only the start of their adventures together. After that night, she had given Natsu her number and told him that if he was ever in Magnolia to call her so they could hang out.

One text soon led to one conversation with then led to phone calls that lasted hours upon hours. It wasn't until a month later that Natsu decided enough was enough and that he missed the girl that he now proudly called his best friend.

He rode the train to Magnolia, despite his severe motion sickness that Lucy had found out about during one of their many late night- more like early morning -chats, and went straight to Lucy's apartment that was also discovered during their late night talks, and decided to surprise her.

And surprise her he did.

Months became a year, which was when Natsu decided to move to Magnolia and into an apartment near Lucy's, rooming with his long time rival, Gray Fullbuster. Within that time, he and Lucy traveled together everywhere, him making adventures so Lucy could have a more exciting and fun life. It was only a bonus for them both as she got interesting pictures from them as well.

After three months he had moved in with Lucy as he got kicked out by Gray because the rival's girlfriend, now fiancée, Juvia was moving in. Bringing his cat Happy and a few bags of clothes, they roomed together for years, and still do, moving out of the tiny apartment and into a house in a friendly neighborhood where they then met Jellal and Erza who were married.

Through all this time, they stuck together as best friends, the bonds never wavering. That is, until Levy had finally introduced Gajeel as her boyfriend after three years of ogling him. That's when Natsu decided to take the big step and ask Lucy out. Two years after they met, with a lot of mishaps during the date he had planned out with her, he ended up losing the engagement ring he had spent four months salary on in the park and the searched for it for hours, temporarily replacing it with a plastic ring he had bought from a 25 cent machine. Erza, Jellal, Gajeel, Levy, Mirajane- a girl they had met at the group's favorite bar Fairy Tail- Wendy (Natsu's little sister apparently, as she was in an orphanage until the day they stumbled upon her and the two siblings recognized each other) Gray and Juvia were the only people invited to their wedding, having been an only child and lost both their parents.

If it hadn't been for Natsu, she wouldn't have met all these people that she now calls her family. Not to mention all of the daily adventures she has now thanks to him, the man she loves, the silly rose haired and dragon obsessed Natsu.

* * *

Lucy was knocked out of her reverie by a door swinging wide open. She only now realized how much time had passed by her staring at the picture.

"We're home Luce!" She heard her husband call out before greeting her with a hug from behind. Lucy grinned and turned around to hug him back, her thin arms circling around his torso. She sighed in content as she took in his fiery scent, thinking that she was so lucky to have him, and that his personality was the best perk about him.

 _His abs are definitely a bonus though_.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" A small voice shouted from below. Nashi, their now five year old daughter, was grinning up at them. There was a gap in her toothy smile from where she had just recently lost a tooth and her pink bangs that she had gotten from her dad was hanging in the brown eyes that she got from her mom.

"How could we ever forget you, my little princess?" Lucy teased as she hefted Nashi up in between the pair.

"Luce! Be careful, we don't want Luke and Layla to get hurt!" Natsu warned as he took Nashi from her arms, holding her before hugging Lucy.

"Thank you, Natsu."

"Hm?"

"Thank you for everything, my dragon." The pink haired man stared down on her with a big grin like their daughter's except with all his pearly white teeth there.

"Anything for my princess."

 _Thank you for the great memories and adventures. And for our friends we met. We'll go on more adventures soon, as soon as Luke and Layla are born at least, and we make Levy, Erza, or Juvia babysit them._


End file.
